Verdict

A sixth win in the race for Aidan O'Brien to equal Andre Fabre's record and a second in successive years for ST NICHOLAS ABBEY. When discussing Camelot after the Guineas, O'Brien had mentioned that St Nicholas Abbey was only just showing them the sparkle that he had displayed as a juvenile following his rushed preparation for that Newmarket Classic which was to his only outing of that season. It's too early to say whether that is really the case as his seasonal reappearance was a non-event and holes can be picked in this Group One. The son of Montjeu was given a very confident ride and pulled his young rider to the front sooner than he wanted but there was really no option given how well the five year old was travelling and he probably didn't do all that much once out on his own. He was cut to 6s and 7s for the Arc on the back of this performance and that makes no appeal at this stage with a lot of water to pass under the bridge and running plans to be decided. He was very impressive and the race was run in a good time but his main market rival failed to run to form while the second and third have made their names as stayers and the fourth had plenty to find. Beaten Up is held in high regard and certainly looked capable of making his mark at this sort of level when beating Al Kazeem last term but he disappointed at Meydan earlier in the year and fared no better here. He may not have taken to the track and has few miles on the clock so is not one to give up on yet while it will be interesting to see how he fares when encountering soft ground which will be expected to suit. Masked Marvel had disappointed twice since winning the St Leger and, while the ground may have been to blame at Newmarket, he had something to prove as a result. This was much more like it and he may well come on again for the run but he was comprehensively outpointed and still has to prove that he can cut it over this trip in this company. The trip was too short for Red Cadeaux who ran a huge race nevertheless but the experiment was well worth trying given the progress he has made as a stayer in the past 12 months. He was badly outpaced turning in but stayed on well to give chase to the winner albeit he may have been slightly flattered to get so close with St Nicholas Abbey probably idling a little. Ed Dunlop reported that his owner is keen to have another crack at the Melbourne Cup in which he finished second last year. Quest For Peace had a good deal to find on the figures and ran respectably to pick up a decent sum of prize money. This was only his eighth start, the best may still be to come and his trainer is sure to pick his races carefully in order to get the best out of him. It would be no surprise given his owners if he were to end up hunting pots in Australia in the autumn as well.